I haven’t been regular on my blog for quite a while, so I’m hoping to change that.

What’s distracting me this week.

Netflix: I’ve been getting notifications about all the cool and awesome shows coming this month and I haven’t even watched the second season of Stranger Things or The Punisher yet!
On my radar Trollhunters (Yes, it’s a cartoon, but I watch Anime and Disney movies, so it’s right up my alley), Ash v. Evil Dead, and the Magician season 2 just to name a few.

Ice Skating: I’m a cord cutter, but with the Winter Olympics coming up, I’ve got my antenna all set up so I can watch NBC. I was disappointed with the short coverage of the Grande Prix Final, but happy to see it at all. I’m excited to watch the National Championships in January!

My dogs: Lali the vizsla is always distracting as she is a Velcro dog and has a very loud bark, but she’s soft and sweet and huggable. I’m worried about Ranger the basenji tho’. He seems to be losing weight, despite acting normal in every way, so I have a vet visit schedule for Tuesday.

Christmas: My daughter is sure there’s a competition going on in the neighborhood for most decorations (one we are losing) She lead the charge to add more lights and another couple projectors and claims we might have made third place. (There are 17 houses in our neighborhood) Personally, I think we’re maybe 5th, but I won’t burst, her bubble.
She also has a concert Wednesday night which her school is charging admission for. This is supposed to be in lieu of a fundraiser and since “fundraiser” is the “f” word to me, I guess I’m okay with it.😀

Find the “unseasonal” item

My release: December 13 marks my seventh release for Soul Mate!
The Dragon’s Flame is Book 5 in the ch8era Chronicles series.
Each book stands alone (although reading in order enhances the experience) and I hope this latest in the series will please my readers!

Billionaire chimera-shifter, Kyle Mara’s hold on his humanity is slipping away. Fortunately, his mate has at last been revealed. Unfortunately, she’s the wicked witch who almost killed one of his brothers.

Backed into a corner by her father, CJ Bansbach had one job to do—bring back chimera genetic material for cloning and kill the donor. Her failure resulted in a year of imprisonment and torture. Being broken out by a chimera on the verge of going feral, even if he kills her or turns her over to the Ethereal council for judgement, seems like a change for the better. Until he tells her she’s his mate.

Plunged into a treasure hunt to break the bond, they must race to find the pieces of a mythical sword while pursued by CJ’s former employers and fighting the pure sexual heat that sparks every time they touch, because forgiveness isn’t Kyle’s to grant and his family’s happiness is everything to him.

(Trailer has no sound)

Dragon’s Flame is a 80,000 word Paranormal Romance that works as a stand-alone and can be in your inbox. Just drop me an email karin@shahs.com subject ARC or comment with your email address. All I ask is that you post an honest review on Amazon and goodreads. If you love it, spread the word. If you don’t, tell other readers why it’s not your cup of tea, that’s it!

Dragon’s Flame goes up for pre-order on Amazon in the next several hours. Please help me share my good news! Sharing is caring.

Attempting to flee from a bank robbery he was blackmailed into, Chimera-shifter and former Army Ranger Tyler Gunn is a desperate man. Reeling from what he believes is the death of his twin, he knows he can’t control his lion if he’s arrested and he fears killing innocent people. His only hope is to get somewhere far away, where he can safely surrender to the feral side that has gnawed away at his humanity and is now a whisker away from locking him in his lion, forever.

Reporter Zara Coventry is having a bad day. Her feet hurt, her mom is pressuring her to move back to California, her co-worker has snaked a story out from under her, and worst of all, she hasn’t had a date in so long, the mere picture of one of the escaped twins from the bank gets her all hot and bothered. What the hell is that all about? Then a tall stranger shields her from an explosion and things go completely downhill.

When Zara recognizes Ty, he has no choice. He must take her hostage. Too many lives are at stake. The plan is to release her as soon as it’s safe, but his lion is revealed and despite her fear, Zara smells the story of a lifetime. Their fates are not their own, however. A major snowstorm strands them in a tiny conservative village in the Ozarks and they are forced to pretend to be husband and wife.

Trapped together, Zara has to remind herself pretty much every time she looks at him that the sexy shapeshifter is a criminal. And though Ty knows she’s his mate, he believes he’s too unstable to give in to the burning desire he feels when she’s near.

But forbidden longing and the FBI are not the only threats. The cartel has lost an airplane in the storm and they’ll do anything to get their product back. Even kill.

Excerpt:

If she refused to come, he would have to carry her.

The notion almost pierced the numb shell of bereavement blanketing him. She’d smelled delightful in his arms earlier and felt even better. He ran a hand over his overlong crew cut. Some Special Forces guys liked to grow beards and long hair, to blend in or maybe because they were allowed, but he’d always liked the ease of the basic buzz they graced recruits with at boot camp. Con had favored it too. Con.

The thought of his brother stabbed his heart and Ty suspected his voice was probably rougher than necessary as he held out his hand to the petite TV reporter. “Your phone’s not working and the weather’s changed. I doubt you want to freeze to death here, so get back in the car.” He breathed deep and glanced over his shoulder at the vehicle, then back in her direction. “Please.”

She studied the cold, dark fields around them, her high broad cheekbones and pointed chin painted blue by the moon, and then ran her gaze over him, as if preparing to buy a prize racehorse. Her cheeks puffed out for a second and sunk, her slow breath a streaming cloud against a black backdrop. “I’ll get back in the car. If you’ll answer some of my questions.”

He considered her for a stretch, then called her bluff, pivoting on his heel to trot back to the car.

She stomped her foot, making the pebbles grate under her sneakered sole and threw her hands down at her sides like a hockey player tossing down his gloves and stick before a fight. “Come on! You kidnapped me. You’re a bank robber and some kind of weird shapeshifter thing!” She pressed her splayed hands to her chest. “It’s worth risking hypothermia to get a few questions answered.”

Weird shapeshifter thing? His lion abruptly remembered it was a pain in the ass. He roared. The sound tumbled through the fallow fields and startled some hardy birds from their roosts. Their wings beat the icy air like a rush of whispered voices.

The reporter flinched, but stood her ground. “Hell, I don’t even know which Gunn brother you are.”

Maybe the only one. He bit back a second roar at the impact of that thought, burying the pain to deal with later and took a step toward her. He’d hijacked her. What would it cost him to tell her his name? “Tyler.”

He wheeled back toward the car and patted her door which still hung open like the tongue of a panting dog. “You can call me Ty.”

There are so many Shiny Things to distract me this time of year, I don’t have time to list them all!

I’ve started writing book 5 in the CHIMERA CHRONICLES. The draft title is DRAGON’S FLAME. This is the oldest brother Kyle’s book. I had been going in reverse order, youngest to oldest, but Ky’s story has been calling to me. He’s the first chimera I’ve written with a dragon default instead of lion (or in Ethan’s case no default– ENTITY MINE), so I’m looking forward to exploring more of the Dragon’s habits and idiosyncrasies. This will also be a quest plot with a lot of action, which will be fun to write! In addition to the fact that his mate is an old enemy!

Of course, my biggest distraction is that Ta-ta-Ta-da! LION’S PREY (Book 4) Ty’s story, will be up for pre-order very very soon and I will have ARC’s for readers willing to review! This is an awesome chance to read the story before anyone else and put me forever in your debt. I love my readers, but those who take the time to review hold a special place in my heart!

I also made a trailer for THE LION’S SHARE (Book 3) Connor’s story. I hope you’ll take a second to watch! If you watch to the end, you’ll see the cover reveal for LION’S PREY.

Other distractions: The start of the fall TV schedule! Shows I’m watching/eagerly awaiting– Timeless, The Voice, Supernatural, Arrow, The Flash, Teen Wolf, Designated Survivor and so many more! Do you have any shows you’re excited about?

Diwali preparations! The Hindu festival of lights is coming and I’ll soon be busy setting out lights and decorative candles, making shrikhand (Indian strained yogurt. I like mango the best. This dish is super easy and soooo yummy!) Simply put whole regular (not Greek or low fat) plain yogurt in a cheesecloth (I use a flat textured hand towel) and fasten up the corners to make a ball. Hang the ball (I use a colander that has a hook I can hook on my kitchen faucet) and let it drain into a sink or bucket. I’m impatient so I squeeze the ball with my hands every so often to speed it up. When you open the towel and the yogurt has the consistency of cream cheese, you scrape it into a bowl with a spatula, add enough Mango purée (Called mango pulp if you buy it from the Indian store) to give the mixture the texture of Greek yogurt and maybe a little sugar if you think it’s not sweet enough. Just stir until well-blended and that’s it! Easy peasy! I store it in the fridge in the yogurt container (Washed out, of course) that I bought the yogurt in. My mother in law makes her own yogurt, but that is a whole ‘nother animal as, Connor, the hero of THE LION’S SHARE would say.

PowerSchool: My children started school in August, but my son who is making the transition to sixth grade is having some adjustment problems. The school has convinced all us parents to download an app called PowerSchool which is intended to give us heart attacks–I mean, keep us updated with a minute to minute accounting of our children’s grades. Of course, this is a wonderful tool that is introducing me to the anxiety of seeing grades go up an down like a roller coaster. I’m glad I can be on top of their work, but I’m not sure my blood pressure can take it!

Wow! This post is getting long, so I’ll leave you here. What’s distracting you this week?

Me! Scary I know. So here’s the situation: you’re walking through the RWA Literacy Autographing in San Diego. I know you want to get the big names autographs, but when you’re done, if you like shifters, stop by and say hello to me.

I’ll be wearing this (Pictured above): my Supernatural T-shirt. I’ll want to know if you’re a Sam girl or a Dean girl, or a lion-shifter or dragon-shifter (Or both like my chimeras) if you’re not a Supernatural fan, no worries, we can discuss our houses at Ilvermorny, or Hogwarts if you’re from across the pond.

If you take a picture of my shirt on this post and show it to me at the conference, I have prizes (Books) to give. I also have prizes for people I just feel like giving prizes to, so no worries if you forget!

My books arrived in the mail! It’s lovely to hold your physical book in your hands. The thrill never goes away!

I’m busy as a beaver working on getting Lion’s Prey ready for its August release. I hope the extra weeks I took will translate into a real keeper.

We romance readers are different from regular readers, we really do keep and re-read our old favorites. In fact, when I’m done with writing for the day, I’ve been reading some of my old category romances (and I mean old! One of them was from 1984!)

The book from 1984 is Ghost of a Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz. I have to say, the sexual tension holds up as does the central plot, but the hero is pretty high-handed and the heroine actually slapped the hero! Times have certainly changed.

I’ve also been watching So You Think You Can Dance. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the kids, but they’re amazing!

Life has been rather overwhelming recently, good and bad. On the good side: My husband and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary this week.

Here’s a pic from our Hindu ceremony which was followed by a wardrobe change and a Christian ceremony.

Meanwhile my clothes washer died and my passport application I sent in six weeks ago was returned sans passport. I have to redo it and pay more money! Ugh! We were hoping to take a cruise this summer, but given the wait time for a passport…sigh.

I’d love to hear from you. Do you have keepers? How old are they? Who are they by? Do they still stand the test of time?

Best,

Karin

PS If you haven’t joined my newsletter, please consider doing so. Newsletter readers get first shot at free ARC’s and other giveaways, and of course, news!

I’m sorry to say that after LION’S PREY (CHIMERA CHRONICLES 4) came back from my beta reader, I realized it needed substantial additions to address my beta reader’s concerns. Several thousand words were added and now need to be edited and polished before I can turn it in for the professional editing of my fabulous editor at Soul Mate, Deborah Gilbert.

Soul Mate has their own timetable for editing and getting a sparkling book out in July is no longer feasible. I promise you I am at hard at work to make sure a true diamond comes out to readers in August.

Meanwhile, Saturday was my one month book-versary of THE LION’S SHARE!

to celebrate, I’m putting up an excerpt from THE LION’S SHARE and an excerpt from LION’S PRIDE. Just a reminder, the LION’S PRIDE excerpt is unedited.

THE LION’S SHARE:

An hour later, Embry braved a brisk wind as she headed to the coffee shop. As the new “guy” on the team, it was her responsibility to “go fetch.” Still, as a bonus, she got to leave the smelly confines of the surveillance van for a few minutes. Ah, the glamorous life of an FBI agent. She almost laughed at herself. She hadn’t been doing it long enough to be jaded. She still loved every minute of it, from the paperwork to day long procedural meetings. Well, maybe not procedural meetings.

She raised her face up to the sun. It would barely scrape sixty today, if she were lucky. She shivered. The only thing she missed about LA was the weather.

As she savored the meager warmth of the sunlight on her cheeks, she almost rammed into a man in front of her. Confronted by the center of a spectacularly formed torso, though covered by a blue hoodie—zipped more’s the pity—she looked up and then further up. Something she rarely had to do at six-foot-one. And saw a clean square chin, high cheekbones, firm lips, slashing black eyebrows and golden eyes. She drew in a sharp breath. His face was familiar, but his eyes made her stomach quiver. They were the same eyes that haunted her dreams—and her nightmares.

“We’re live in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas, where a tense eight-hour hostage situation at the Cooperative Bank and Trust has just come to an end.” Zara Coventry smiled at the camera lens, hoping to convey a sense of compassionate authority, though she felt like something the cat dragged in.

“Here’s what we know. Five men entered the bank on Fourth Street just after 9:00 am. At 5:00 pm, after many hours of negotiation, shots were heard inside the bank and SWAT entered.” She glanced down at her hastily scrawled notes. “Suspects Gleeson Rainey, Demetrius Brown, Paul Cooper, and an unidentified accomplice have been apprehended due to the extraordinary bravery of FBI agent Embry Lane. We expect Agent Lane, who was trapped inside the bank when the robbery began, to exit any minute now. A full news conference is set for 6:45.”

She summoned a more serious tone. “Two other suspects, brothers, Connor and Tyler Gunn, are missing and believed to have eluded authorities. The men are former Army Rangers on parole from the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Leavenworth and are considered armed and extremely dangerous. Law enforcement officials ask citizens to be on the lookout for these men and call the number below if you see them. However, and I can’t stress this enough, do not approach them. I repeat, according to officials these men are expertly trained and extremely dangerous. Call the tip line if you see them, but do not approach.”

Or I guess I should say that they don’t exist. You see, though of course I love my family and friends, a large number of my loved ones are fictional characters.

Many people get excited about meeting the actors who play characters they love, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki from Supernatural for example, but for me, while I admire them, I have no need to meet them. Now, if I had a chance to meet Sam and Dean that would be a different story.😊

I feel the same way about Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and all my other fictional loves.

And then there are my fictional children, the ones I write. I love them, too and I feel a little guilty about them, I mean I kind of put them through the wringer before they get their happily ever after.

Maybe none more so then my latest children, ex-con, former army ranger and shape shifter, Connor Gunn and his match, Embry Lane, an FBI agent, who meet while Con is in the middle of a bank robbery – – and he’s one of the robbers.

Blurb: Former Army Ranger, and Chimera-shifter, Connor Gunn is fighting a losing battle against his lion side.
Just released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, the last thing he needs is to be blackmailed into a bank robbery, along with his twin brother Tyler. Worse, the lovely, FBI agent already in the bank affects him like no other woman ever has, awakening his body and compelling his lion to the brink of taking full control.
FBI agent Embry Lane has learned a few things over the course of her six years with the bureau:
1. The FBI is more than a career
2. Men are nice for a distraction, but eventually they leave
3. No real man can top the dream lover who comes to her at night, anyway.
When Embry runs into Connor on the street, their instant connection makes her doubt what she knows—until she meets him in a tactical mask at the bank with a rifle in his hands.
Trapped in the bank, Connor and Embry must combat their mutual attraction and protect the hostages, because with SWAT outside and deadly enemies within, one wrong move could see them all dead.

I wonder if I did meet Con what he would say to me? I have a feeling he’d be pretty pissed. Still, he gets a gift I can’t give to my real friends and family. He gets to live a long, magical life with the one person he’s meant to love. I think, fictional or not, that’s an ending we’d all like to have.

Don’t be shy. Are you a convention goer? What actors do you yearn to meet? Or are you more like me and if so which fictional character or characters would you most like to meet?

Those who’ve read a number of my blogs know I do most of my writing on the treadmill (Which doesn’t make me thin, just keeps me healthy), but here’s what it looks like when I write from my couch. This is my brindle basenji Ranger on my lap. Our vizsla Lali usually pushes in too, but she was prowling for unguarded food in the kitchen.

Today, I want to tell you more about the two books I have coming out this Spring/Summer. Last week I shared the blurb for THE LION’S SHARE (CHIMERA CHRONICLES 3) May 2016 Soul Mate Publishing. email Karin@Shahs.com to be put on the list for an eARC in exchange for an honest review when they’re available. I haven’t worked up even a draft blurb for my July release THE LION’S PRIDE (CHIMERA CHRONICLES 4) as yet, but it takes place immediately following the bank robbery in TSL.

The hero, Ty, is on the run from the law. He’s been balancing on the edge of going feral for a while and is further reeling because he believes his twin brother, Con is dead, killed in an explosion as they fled the bank. Now, forced to kidnap a female news reporter to escape the feds, he becomes stranded with her in a tiny Ozark town. The town is conservative and they’re compelled to pretend to be husband and wife to get accommodations from a blizzard. But what was supposed to be one night, turns into a full-time thing when the town is cut-off by a flood. Pretending he loves her starts to feel more and more real.

The heroine, Zara Coventry, quickly discovers there’s more to this supposed bank robber than meets the eye. He rescues her, helps the town fight a flood and even more amazing than the way he makes her feel, he can transform into a lion. He’s the story of a lifetime, if she can keep her distance.

But invading flood waters aren’t the only thing driven into town by the storm. Drug traffickers have lost a plane in the area and they’ll do anything to retrieve their product. With the law on his trail and traffickers trapped with them, Ty and Zara must fight their attraction and for their lives.

The first book in the duo was meant to be an homage to a Supernatural episode called Nightshifter and this one was supposed to be a classic Romantic Suspense, but I think the ending got a hint of another Supernatural episode called Jus in Bello. What can I say? I’m a fan.

Last night I was lying in bed wondering why my heroes are so often running from something. I guess, I’m always writing what I want to read and I love books and movies like that. I’m an action girl. A glimpse into my Netflix queue at any given time will have shows like Burn Notice, Leverage, XIII the series, Supernatural, and movies like the Bourne Identity, etc.

I love action, but I like fun action. I want to enjoy the fights, knowing the hero or heroine is going to make it out alive, and even better, fall in live while doing it. Which is why a glimpse into my kindle library will show a ton of Kresley Cole. Sherrilyn Kenyon, Nalini Singh, and Jayne Ann Krentz (in all her incarnations), authors that deliver great action, emotional intensity and fun. I try my damnedest to deliver the same.

The only way I know if I’ve succeeded, is if readers let me know, so if you’ve read one of my books, drop me a line or find me on social media, or be kind to your fellow readers and leave an a review on Amazon, GoodReads, or both!

Today I redo what I wrote yesterday. We writers are used to re-writing, but I went to edit a simple error–the date from yesterday–and managed to erase my whole blog!

The thing is I’m not a newbie at this whole computer thing… Moving on…

Buenos Dias, amigos! Today I am peeking out from my editing cave. (Chimera 3) THE LION’S SHARE is super close to going back to my editor at Soul Mate, which means–very, very soon I will have eARC’s to send to readers willing to review!

I’m not going to lie, my luck with reviewers has been pretty poor lately. Reviewers are busy, but the fact is, without reviews I can write as much as I want, but no one will read it. Reviews are the life blood of an author. So I am making a list of readers willing to read the eARC of THE LION’S SHARE and post a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Both would be awesome! It doesn’t even have to be a positive review. Just a few paragraphs about what you liked or didn’t. That’s it!

THE LION’S SHARE was based on the Nightshifter episode of the TV show Supernatural, so if you share my love of Sam and Dean, but wish there was a little romance (and the shifters weren’t the bad guys) or just love Paranormal Romance with a lot of action, this might be the book for you!

The boys

Here’s the draft blurb: Former Army Ranger and Chimera shifter Connor Gunn is fighting a battle with his lion side. Just released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, the last thing he needs is to get blackmailed into a bank robbery along with his twin brother, Tyler. Worse, there is a FBI agent already in the bank and she affects him as no woman ever has, awakening his body and drawing his lion even closer to the surface.

FBI agent Embry Lane has learned a few things over the course of her six years with the bureau. 1. The FBI is more than a career. 2. Men are nice for a distraction, but eventually they leave.
3. No man can match up to the lover who comes to her dreams at night anyway.
When she runs into Connor on the street her instant attraction to him makes her doubt what she’s learned–until she meets him in a tactical mask at the bank with a rifle in his hands.

Trapped in the bank, Connor and Embry must fight for the hostages and battle their attraction because with SWAT outside and enemies within one wrong move could see them all dead.

Interested? Just email me at Karin@shahs.com. I need your name and you email, so I can send you an eARC when I get them in the next few weeks.

Shiny Things week of Dec 10-16, 2017 I haven’t been regular on my blog for quite a while, so I’m hoping to change that. What’s distracting me this week. Netflix: I’ve been getting notifications about all the cool and awesome shows coming this month and I haven’t even watched the second season of Stranger […]

For her crime there can be no forgiveness… Billionaire chimera-shifter, Kyle Mara’s hold on his humanity is slipping away. Fortunately, his mate has at last been revealed. Unfortunately, she’s the wicked witch who almost killed one of his brothers. Backed into a corner by her father, CJ Bansbach had one job to do—bring back chimera […]

For her crime there can be no forgiveness… Billionaire chimera-shifter, Kyle Mara’s hold on his humanity is slipping away. Fortunately, his mate has at last been revealed. Unfortunately, she’s the wicked witch who almost killed one of his brothers. Backed into a corner by her father, CJ Bansbach had one job to do—bring back chimera […]

Available today! Blurb: On the run . . . Attempting to flee from a bank robbery he was blackmailed into, Chimera-shifter and former Army Ranger Tyler Gunn is a desperate man. Reeling from what he believes is the death of his twin, he knows he can’t control his lion if he’s arrested and he fears […]

There are so many Shiny Things to distract me this time of year, I don’t have time to list them all! I’ve started writing book 5 in the CHIMERA CHRONICLES. The draft title is DRAGON’S FLAME. This is the oldest brother Kyle’s book. I had been going in reverse order, youngest to oldest, but Ky’s story […]

I’m so excited that THE LION’S SHARE (CHIMERA CHRONICLES 3) received a Top Pick at The Romance Reviews! I’m so happy Lia L liked it! Read the review: http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=22259

Me! Scary I know. So here’s the situation: you’re walking through the RWA Literacy Autographing in San Diego. I know you want to get the big names autographs, but when you’re done, if you like shifters, stop by and say hello to me. I’ll be wearing this (Pictured above): my Supernatural T-shirt. I’ll want to […]

A look at the things distracting me this week. My books arrived in the mail! It’s lovely to hold your physical book in your hands. The thrill never goes away! I’m busy as a beaver working on getting Lion’s Prey ready for its August release. I hope the extra weeks I took will translate into a […]

I’m sorry to say that after LION’S PREY (CHIMERA CHRONICLES 4) came back from my beta reader, I realized it needed substantial additions to address my beta reader’s concerns. Several thousand words were added and now need to be edited and polished before I can turn it in for the professional editing of my fabulous […]

Or I guess I should say that they don’t exist. You see, though of course I love my family and friends, a large number of my loved ones are fictional characters. Many people get excited about meeting the actors who play characters they love, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki from Supernatural for example, but for […]